Prison Break success shocks creator

Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller, fourth from L) is a desperate man with a plan to save the life of his brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell, third from L), who is on death row in Prison Break.

January 27, 2006 - 12:24PM

There is hope for couriers, cable guys and factory workers
around the globe.

Creator of award winning series Prison Break Paul
Scheuring did all these jobs and is now cashing in on the success
of the hit show.

"I always remember to be polite to the courier guy delivering
the scripts because I remember what it was like," the 37-year-old
said.

Ahead of Channel Seven's launch of the program on February 1,
Scheuring admits he is shocked by the success of the show in the
US.

"If you had have asked me on August 29, 2005, the day we
launched in the States, if it was going to be popular and that I
would be talking to journalists in Australia about it's launch
there I would have said you were on crack," he said
matter-of-factly.

"We thought it was a really good project with a great cast, but
we just didn't know if anyone would respond to it because it is so
unorthodox."

Prison Break is a captivating series following the life
of Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) and his dedication to
breaking his brother Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) out of Fox
River State Penitentiary.

Armed with a pistol Scofield, who has seen the prison's
blueprints and researched the jail break extensively, stages a bank
robbery and lands himself behind bars with his brother.

Burrows is on death row and scheduled to die in a few months for
an assassination attempt on the vice president's son. His brother
is the only one that believes he is innocent.

In hair raising scenes, viewers will witness Scofield adjusting
to the regimented, tough and cruel life in prison.

One episode shows Scofield terrorised by other inmates, getting
one of his toes cut off with shears because he won't cooperate with
their request.

"I have heard the word addictive a lot when people talk about
the show," Scheuring said.

"Generally that is not a compliment, but when it comes to a TV
series it is. I think people like the production value because it
feels like a mini movie every week and the girls love the two
leads."

"I was at the Golden Globes last week with them and it's like
they are rock stars," laughs Scheuring.

Scheuring admits that it was extremely difficult finding the
right actors to fit the parts and he was 'sweating bullets' one
week out from production.

He couldn't fill the lead roles.

"We went through some harrowing weeks seeing just about every 25
to 35 actor in LA for the Scofield part," Scheuring remembers.

"There is a mysterious element about Michael and all these guys
would come in playing mysterious, but it was so cheesy and
false.

"It was one week till production and Wentworth walked in and he
was Scofield times ten. It was like heaven having him walk through
the door."

Finding the perfect Burrows was also a challenge and Scheuring
originally thought Purcell was too much of a pretty boy to play the
part.

"Dominic came in and he was on a show called North Shore
- a Hawaiian cheesy soap opera - and he came in with his hair
styled and a tan and I wasn't convinced this was the guy," he
said.

"But he auditioned and he was excellent, it was just a matter of
cutting his hair.

He adds, "Lincoln's character is supposed to be the bad arse but
at the same time he has to be worth saving so he has to have a good
heart - which is a difficult combo to get. But Dominic got it
down."

On the first day of filming Purcell arrived with a new buzz cut
and Scheuring says he was amazed how alike the stars looked.

"I put the guys together and it was like my god you guys do look
like brothers. We really bolted lightning in that last week," he
said.

"You got to believe in fate."

Scheuring says the popularity surrounding Prison Break
comes from viewers wanting more from television than just reality
fodder.

"The audience is tired of being force fed the same old procedure
and cookie cutter shows," he said.

"They are thirsting for new things. You look at American TV and
there is a flux of shows like this coming out. I don't know if they
will all succeed but it's the thing that everybody is trying to get
their hands on."

Born in Aurora, Illinois, Scheuring relocated to the West Coast,
where he attended the UCLA school of theatre, film and
television.

A working screenwriter for years, he has written numerous plays,
including 2003's feature films A Man Apart starring Vin
Diesel and an uncredited rewriter on The Rundown starring
The Rock.

Prison Break is Scheuring's first foray in television and
he admits it's been a huge learning curve.

"When they green lit the show there was a lot of questions about
my inexperience, if I would be up for the task," he said.

"This is a multi-million dollar endeavour and the first few
months I was under a microscope and the leash was extraordinarily
short, almost to the point where I couldn't breathe. But, here we
are nearly five months later and everything seems to be going
okay."

Prison Break recently won the People's Choice Award for
Favourite New TV Drama and was nominated at the Golden Globes in
the same category.

Miller was also nominated a Globe for Best Performance by an
Actor in a Drama TV Series.

Unfortunately they didn't take home the Golden Globe gongs, but
Scheuring says it was an honour to get the People's Choice
award.

"I was very surprised all of it," he said.

"When we were nominated for People's Choice that was great
because we knew people were interested and to get the Globe
nominations was even more surprising.

"It just goes to show you just never, never, never know what's
going to happen," he laughs.

So after years of slogging it out, Scheuring has finally cracked
the jackpot and says reservations of ever continuing with this
career have been restored.

"There were always questions earlier on that maybe I should get
a legitimate career and get a constant pay cheque," he said.

"But someone in Hollywood said years ago that if you stick
around Hollywood for 10 years then they will have to hire you
because everyone else will quit. Maybe that's what's happened here
- I don't know."

Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller, fourth from L) is a desperate man with a plan to save the life of his brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell, third from L), who is on death row in <i>Prison Break</i>.

Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller, fourth from L) is a desperate man with a plan to save the life of his brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell, third from L), who is on death row in <i>Prison Break</i>.

Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller, fourth from L) is a desperate man with a plan to save the life of his brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell, third from L), who is on death row in <i>Prison Break</i>.

Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller, fourth from L) is a desperate man with a plan to save the life of his brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell, third from L), who is on death row in <i>Prison Break</i>.